An illustration from What We Eat When We Are Alone, by Deborah Madison. Photograph: Patrick McFarlin/PR

In today's G2 I talk to Deborah Madison, author of What We Eat When We Eat Alone: Stories and 100 Recipes. The book came about when Madison's husband, the painter Patrick McFarlin, began asking people what they ate in private. The answers were hugely varied - sometimes gross – revealing a secret, outlandish culinary landscape. As Madison writes,

"when we eat alone we often break all the rules surrounding not only what to eat, but when to eat, and even where. And this is true regardless of what we know about cooking or about what makes a proper meal".

So they encountered a woman who described tearing apart a roast chicken while leaning over the sink; someone who admitted dipping bread into margarita mix; another who found huge comfort in fried spam; and one who enjoyed making sandwiches filled with leftover spaghetti (a popular ingredient. Another interviewee fried leftover spaghetti with Swiss cheese). And then there was the person who admitted to pouring

"sardine juice onto cottage cheese while standing on one foot in front of the refrigerator, not putting down the other foot because there'd been a meat leak from the vegetable drawer".

Delicious!

When you start asking people this question, their answers do seem revealing. One colleague always opts for egg and soldiers, with a glass of milk "and I don't even like milk. It just reminds me of being a kid". Another says that she gorges on vegetables when her meat-loving boyfriend is away.

Parents of young children often seem drawn to that ultimate comfort food – hot, buttered toast. And while some people indulge in their favourites, others can't be bothered with a meal at all. "There was no food in the house recently, but I wanted to taste something," says a friend, "so I just dipped my finger in chilli sauce".

Of course, many of us spend long periods of our lives eating alone regularly, and some suggest that it's these times that give us space to experiment, to come up with unusual, exciting concoctions – dishes that we'd be delighted to share in future. Still, I don't think my occasional treat of baked potato with soy sauce is going to win any plaudits. But what about you? Do your most enjoyable culinary moments come when the house is empty? Let us know what you indulge in when no one else is watching – and why.

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